The state has dismissed a discrimination complaint filed against the town and its building commissioner by a Hispanic landlord who says he was targeted because of his race.

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination has found no probable cause in the case German Escalante filed last September.

Escalante complained after he was taken to housing court by the town and was ordered to rip out an illegal third-floor apartment at 29 Sumner St.

He claimed Building Commissioner Anthony DeLuca unjustly "subjects me to numerous, ongoing visits to my property" and suggested he was victimized because he is Hispanic and from El Salvador.

"I was kind of upset that anyone would even think that, so I was very glad to see the decision," DeLuca said yesterday.

DeLuca said the town takes law and code violations seriously, investigates every complaint and went after Escalante because of numerous illegal and unsafe conditions on his property.

"We try to stay very consistent on the way we handle things, and, of course, I feel that we do," DeLuca said.

The violations at 29 Sumner St. included the second exit from the third floor of the home being a rung ladder attached to the exterior vinyl siding.

The town received the commission's decision in the mail yesterday after the state weighed Escalante's claims against the town's defense.

Investigating commissioner Sunila Thomas-George wrote that Escalante "did not reveal sufficient evidence of an unlawful act of discrimination."

Escalante, who lives in Bellingham, did not return a call yesterday.

He has the right to appeal to the commission within 10 days.

Selectmen Chairman Brian Murray praised the work of Town Counsel Gerald Moody in preparing a voluminous defense on behalf of the town and DeLuca.

The town said DeLuca's office received complaints about 29 Sumner St. in 2004 from neighbors about overcrowding, and excessive numbers of commercial vehicles and other activity there.

The Board of Health also looked into overcrowding.

A judge in Worcester Housing Court last August sided with the town in ruling a third-floor apartment at 29 Sumner St. is illegal and must be taken out.

During a hearing in July, Escalante testified the extra apartment was there in 2004 when he invested in a home he believed was a legal three-family. He said he didn't believe he had done anything wrong.